Community Health Centers Flourish in Connecticut

Community Health Centers are flourishing despite high demand reports the local The Hartford Courant newspaper. Health centers throughout the state have benefited from the economic stimulus funds which have given them the opportunity to update technology, expand their facilities and serve more patients. Health centers in Connecticut received nearly $37 million from stimulus funds, which have allowed them to serve over 41,189 new patients and over 14,600 uninsured patients, according to a new fact sheet from NACHC. Demand for health center services is expected to grow under health reform.

Community Health Services in Hartford is among the health centers featured in the local coverage that highlights how the federal investment has paid off. The health center used the stimulus investment to renovate what was once a local supermarket to create a space for pediatrics adolescent and adult medicine and dentistry. And the surrounding community also benefits from the investment; the health center lends its ample new space for community gatherings, such as hosting a local farmers market in the parking lot, or even as a place of worship after a local church had gone into foreclosure.

Like people in the surrounding communities, doctors in Connecticut are especially excited about the growth and changes that health centers are experiencing, thanks to health reform. Dr. Robert Dudley from New Britain’s Community Health Center which is just one of the 12 primary care centers owned by the Middletown-based Community Health Center Inc. expressed his excitement over electronic records, “You don’t have to rely on everybody’s memory and paper records that you can’t read,” he said. Many doctors are excited about using electronic records because it can help eliminate errors and it makes accessing records a lot easier especially in cases of an emergency.

These are just a couple examples of how heatlh centers in Connecticut are growing and using their resources to help not only patients but their whole communities. Do you have any great stories about things that your CHC is doing? If so, please leave us a comment.